Color/Design II

The following projects are color problems assigned to 

 Design II students at Tompkins Cortland Community College.

1. Choice 100-1
2. Color Mixing Chart
3. Color Sameness - Hue, Value, Intensity
4. Color Illusions - Transparency and Light
5. Color Relativity - Bezold Effect
6. Color in Gradation
7. Color Relationships

2. Color Mixing Chart

The following color charts were made with three primary colors plus black and white.

Color Swatches

The first step is to create color swatches of the color groups. Make them about 2x2". Don't worry about the rough edges, but do try to make them consistently smooth. Mix paint thoroughly before applying.

You can see that the Yellow + Gray tone is too dark, it doesn't have enough color identity as yellow. The tone underneath has greater yellow color identity. Start with the dominant color and add just a touch of grey.

In the examples of the shade swatches, there are several tries. The darkest has the most black and starts to turn green, which does not reflect the yellow hue well.

The Intensity swatches are made by mixing a small amount of the complementary color into the original color. Try to maintain the color identity of the original color.

Swatches are a good way to try out colors before committing to the final chart.

Final Presentation Charts

A traditional grid chart

Organized by Complementary Colors

Planning Lay Out for the following chart

This chart was grouped into warm and cool colors.

3. Color Sameness - Hue, Value, Intensity

Draw a geometric design using horizontal, vertical, or curved lines.  Create 15 thumbnail sketches before selecting the design you will use.  The sketches will be handed in. You will use this design in the following 3 exercises.

Each design should be on 11x14” Bristol.  Use opaque paint to complete the exercises.  Keep the borders clean.  You may want to cut and paste the shapes onto a clean background.

Label the compositions.

1.  Hue

Create a palette of six variations that are connected by Hue.   In this exercise, hue is used to describe a group of colors that are similar, but within the same color group.   A group of reds may be made by adding a small amount of analogous or complementary colors.  White and black can also be used to vary the color. 

·         Paint one shape in the complementary color for contrast.

2. Value

Create a palette of six colors that are identical in color value.  To change the value of a color add white, black, or a color naturally darker in value.  Try to identify where on the value scale your colors will fall and work to have all colors on the same value level.

·         Make one shape at a higher or lower value for contrast.

3.  Intensity

Create a palette of six colors that are at the same level of color intensity.  Choose a level of intensity between low and medium.  To change intensity add the colors complement.

·         Leave one shape at high intensity.

Hue

Variations in hue can be made by changing value, or intensity, or by mixing complements or analogous colors. The idea is to get a variety of hue variations that still give the main hue dominance.

Blue Variation with Complementary Orange shape.

Red Variations with Complementary Green Shape (dark green in the middle)

Violet Variations with Complementary Yellow Shape

This is a commercial color chart that shows different variations of red, with variations in intensity and value.

Value

Same level of Value, but different Hues

This problem has 6 different hues/colors. Try to make them on the same level of value - all light, or medium, or dark value. This example shows hues in the middle-value range. The shape in the middle is a light value contrast. (This is not a perfect example. The violets read darker than the blue and green and yellow shade. If you squint at the middle square it also appears to be lighter than the outer border of colors. This is a result of warm/color contrast.) 

The following commercial color charts show value variations. Choose one level of value for all your colors.

3 different values of the same color

Choose one level for all hues in your design.

This group of value charts shows how color can be mixed to have different values. Choose the same level of value for all your colors.

Tints

 (some of these tints are lighter and some darker, but they are all in the light value range.)

Shades

These last two charts show very different color value when compared, light tints compared to dark shades of value. 

Intensity

Examples of low-intensity color can be found in the last row of your color chart.

In this problem, use 6 different colors all brought down to low saturation/intensity. One color will be at high-intensity for contrast. Notice in the first example that the YG and Violet in the middle seem to stand out. The violet just has white in it, but no complement added and so the color identity is stronger. The YG is a mix of yellow and black. It is still easy to see the color identity in the other shapes, but they are more muted and so considered chromatic greys.

In the next two examples, there is not a contrasting intensity. The colors are all muted, although some may read lighter or darker in value, which adds interest.

This color chart shows low-intensity colors and you can see that all colors can be included and they may be at different value levels.

4. Transparency and Light

Transparency

Light

5. Color Relativity

The Bezold Effect

Reading:  Launching the Imagination, 2-D, Color Interaction pg. 41-42

Wilhelm von Bezold, a 19th-century German scientist and rug-maker, found that he could create a radically different color effect in an identical design by changing a single color.

For this assignment, create a composition and choose 5 colors for the design. The colors may be distributed throughout the composition in different areas.  Draw an identical composition and keep all the colors the same and in the same shape areas, except one color. 

In this problem, the proportions of the colors are important.  The larger the area of color the more the change in color will affect the design. High-intensity colors will get more attention than lower intensity colors. Make the colors that you are changing very different from each other in hue, value, or intensity. Notice how colors next to (relative to) the changed colors appear different than in the original design.

Color Response

1.   Color is an important element in the architecture at TC3. Take a tour of the building and create a map of the color areas. Compare and contrast the hallways/stairwells, the library, and the student center.

What do they have in common?  Is there a common theme in color throughout the building?  How does the color change (hue, value, intensity) in the three main areas I have mentioned? Can you detect any reason for the change in the quality of the colors? Take notes as you are observing and write out your answers to hand in.

2.   Visit three or more stairways at TC3.  As you are in that space with the color, become aware of how you are reacting to the color.  How does the color affect your mood, feelings, thoughts, sense of space, temperature?  The color may remind you of something or someplace. Write down your reactions.  One word responses are fine but do try to make a list.  You could also write sentences or metaphors.

3.   You have experienced the changes possible with color by altering hue, value, and intensity, how would you change the color in the stairways that you have visited?  Why? Write this out to hand in.

6. Color Gradation

Atmospheric Perspective and Color Progression

 Objective:  To use the characteristics of atmospheric perspective to create the illusion of depth in a composition

In atmospheric perspective you will see:

•         color gradations from warm to cool,

•         color intensity from high in the foreground, to low in the background,

•         large value contrasts to minimal contrasts,

•         large shapes in foreground to small shapes in distance

•         detailed shapes in foreground to general shapes or merged shapes

Color Progression

     4 studies

     Gradation – a gradation is a gradual shift

      Divide a sheet of Bristol paper into 4 sections to do the following studies.  In each section create compositions that are divided into 5 horizontal planes.  Consider the bottom plane to be the largest and spatially closest plane, the top plane to be the smallest and most distant.

      Add color to the compositions as described in the following exercises.  You may use paint or colored pencils for the studies.

1.   Hue variation from dark to light (Monochromatic color scheme)

2.   Hue variation from warm to cool (Complementary or Analogous color scheme)

3.   Color intensity from high to low (Complementary or Analogous color scheme)

4.   Shape gradation from large to small.  This repeated form will overlap.  The largest shape will appear to be at the front of the composition and the smallest shape will recede to the back of the composition.  Determine alignment and movement of the shapes within the composition.  Choose a color gradation to add to the movement of shapes.

Hint:  In order to get smoother transitions, add a little of the adjacent color to the next color mixture.

Reference: Launching the Imagination, Harmony and Disharmony, pg. 48-54, and Ways to Create the Illusion of Space, pg.94-95.

 4-panel color gradation studies

These studies can be done with color pencil, pastels, or paint.

dark to light, warm to cool, high intensity to low, large shapes to small

Part II/Final Assignment

    Final Composition

     Materials:  Full sheet of Bristol, acrylic paint.

      Divide the composition into foreground, middle ground, and background areas.  (These areas may be divided into smaller planes). Add a repeating shape, with a size gradation, on top of the ground. Consider movement of the repeated shape through the composition.  The focus of the assignment is to use color progression and size of shapes to create a sense of spatial depth.  Use what you have learned about color gradation and space from the studies, in designing this problem.

Shape gradation from large to small, color gradation from light to dark

Value gradation dark to light, large to small shapes.

(The color in the sailboats could also decrease in intensity as they recede.)

Color gradation and shape gradation

Another Gradation Assignment 

 https://expandingtheuniverseartworkshops.blogspot.com/2018/06/gradation.html

Tompkins Cortland Students - The next assignment was postponed because of the class cancellation. We will incorporate the concept into one of the 3-D assignments.

7. Color Relationships

Choose an image from a known artist. In the image below, Picasso is the artist.

Remove the color from the image so that you can add a new palette of colors to the image. 

You will need 4 copies to color. 

You may use color pencils, oil pastels, chalk pastels, watercolors or acrylic paints. Use different color relationships for 3 of the compositions. Refer to Launching the Imagination for Color Relationship information.

The first composition will show the original colors.